art deco jail

Today's inspiration comes from an article in this month's Popular Photography. Brian Parillo's project was to photograph Los Angeles skyscrapers with a wide-angle lens to produce graphic elements. Although Lubbock is lacking in high-rise buildings, I gave this a shot (pun intended). My favorite of the downtown images was the five-story Art Deco building at 811 Main. Built as the Lubbock County Jail in 1931 and designed by local architect Blum Haynes, it has the geometrical features, decorative bas reliefs and stylized floral motifs found in structures of the Art Deco era. 811 Main currently houses the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office and, with the opening of the "new" jail, the building is scheduled for demolition. This significant building, one of the few original surviving historic public buildings around the courthouse square, will be replaced by a parking lot.

Lubbock County Jail

811 Main

Lubbock, Texas